Bezos probe concludes mistress’ brother was Enquirer source

WASHINGTON — Private investigators working for Jeff Bezos have concluded that the brother of the Amazon CEO’s mistress leaked the couple’s intimate text messages to the National Enquirer, a person familiar with the matter told The Associated Press on Monday.

The person wasn’t authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke to AP on condition of anonymity.

The findings add to the intrigue surrounding the clash between the proTrump tabloid and the world’s richest man. Mr. Bezos’ investigators have suggested the Enquirer’s coverage of his affair was driven by dirty politics. President Donald Trump has been highly critical of Mr. Bezos over his ownership of The Washington Post and Amazon, and the Post’s coverage of the White House.

The brother, Michael Sanchez, is a supporter of Mr. Trump and an acquaintance of Trump allies Roger Stone and Carter Page. He is also the manager of his sister, Lauren Sanchez, a former TV anchor. The investigators have not said how they believe Mr. Sanchez came into possession of his sister’s intimate messages.

Mr. Sanchez did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment on Monday. In a Jan. 31 tweet, he said without evidence that Mr. Bezos’ longtime security consultant, Gavin de Becker, who is leading the private investigation, “spreads fake, unhinged conservative conspiracy theories.”

An attorney for the tabloid’s parent company did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.

On Sunday, an attorney for the head of American Media, which owns the Enquirer, said that the information for the story had been provided by a “reliable source” well-known to Mr. Bezos and Ms. Sanchez. The source had provided information to the company for at least seven years, Elkan Abramowitz, an attorney for American Media Inc. chief executive David Pecker, said on ABC’s “This Week.”

He added that details about Mr. Bezos’ extramarital affair did not come from Mr. Trump, Saudi Arabia or Mr. Stone.